AIDS cases in county almost triple over three-year period

Wednesday

Dec 1, 1993 at 12:01 AM

It's a sobering fact: Since December 1990, AIDS cases have almost tripled in Spartanburg County. One out of every 243 persons is HIV positive. Today, Spartanburg and the rest of the nation pauses to observe World AIDS Day. One hundred and eighty countries will join in the effort to bring attention to the AIDS epidemic. But closer to home, AIDS educators say they have trouble giving the message to South Carolina youth because many parents don't want them to talk about sex. To local AIDS educators' knowledge, no HIV awareness seminars will be conducted in Spartanburg County schools today. "We confuse the moral issue with the public health issue when it comes to AIDS," said Phillip Hudson, prevention coordinator with the Spartanburg County Alcohol and Drug Abuse Commission. "And in the meantime, people die." Hudson also is chairman of the Spartanburg AIDS Support Network. He said the people who need AIDS education most - teen-agers - are the ones who have the least access to it. "The Comprehensive Sex Education Act prevents discussing birth control or condoms," Hudson said, referring to the state law on sex education. "There's a word list that can't be discussed by the teachers. But the 13- to 19-year-old category is one of the fastest growing in the reported number of new AIDS cases. These kids are not getting the prevention message." Hudson said the teen years are when people are experimenting with drugs and sex, exposing them to the greatest danger from AIDS. He said experimentation is inevitable, but many parents refuse to believe it. Hudson said the fastest growing age category for AIDS cases is the 20-29 age group. "If the incubation period is 10 to 11 years, then these people contracted the disease in their teens," Hudson said. "What we can't discuss with kids now can kill them later." A report issued by the Spartanburg Health Planning Commission cites a 1991 South Carolina Youth Risk Profile that said South Carolina teens are 14 percent more likely to be engaging in sexual activity than teen-agers nationally. The report also mentions a 1988 report that said roughly 80 percent of young people today have sexual intercourse before they turn 20 years old. Under the heading of education, the report encourages school districts to adopt the State Department of Education's HIV/AIDS curriculum. It recommends beginning HIV/AIDS education as early as kindergarten. But many parents resist the instruction because they don't want to think about their children becoming sexually active, instructors say. Andrew Vitale, coordinator of bereavement services for Spartanburg Regional Medical Center's Hospice program, said he has encountered parents' resistance in courses he teaches on Christian human sexuality. "Many people believe their children are not sexually active," Vitale said. "I was speaking at one church, and the mother of a seventh-grade boy said I shouldn't discuss things like HIV/AIDS prevention because her son wasn't interested in sex." Lucien Richardson, director of health and safety services for the American Red Cross, teaches HIV/AIDS prevention to groups in the Spartanburg area. He agrees that many people would rather ignore the problem. "They're not willing to face the fact that there's a problem," Richardson said. "There's an attitude of `It's not happened to me.' "I've had people say they don't want sex education in the area because they're afraid it will cause the children to be more sexually active." The only hope for AIDS prevention is to train people about the risks and teach them to take precautions, Richardson said. "It's not a viable option to not teach young people prevention and let them die," Richardson said. "I can't see that." World AIDS Day activities in Spartanburg will begin at 1 p.m. today with a ceremony at the Main Post Office at South Church and Henry Streets. Post office officials will introduce a new "AIDS Awareness" stamp. At 7 p.m. Mayor James Talley will read the World AIDS Day Proclamation at Richardson Park across from the Flagstar Tower. A candlelight procession to the Unitarian Universalist Church for an ecumenical service will follow the ceremony. Box information: SOUTH CAROLINA HIV/AIDS REPORTING HOTLINE For healthcare providers who diagnose and treat HIV and AIDS cases. 1-800-277-0873 Hours: 8:30 - 5 p.m. Monday - Friday SOUTH CAROLINA HIV/AIDS INFORMATION HOTLINE For general information and resource referrals regarding HIV and AIDS 1-800-322-2437 Hours: 8 a.m. - 8 p.m. Monday-Friday PEOPLE WITH AIDS COALITION HOTLINE Hotline staffed by people with HIV/AIDS 1-800-828-3280 Hours: 10 a.m. - 8 p.m. Monday - Friday NATIONAL HIV/AIDS HOTLINE For general information 1-800-342-2437 Original Atex file name: SPBGAI.DS

Never miss a story

Choose the plan that's right for you.
Digital access or digital and print delivery.